Mastercard introduces accessible card
According to the latest report, new data shows 43 million people currently are living with avoidable blindness and 260 million with moderate-to-severe visual impairment. For sure, those numbers are not including people with temporal visual disabilities. Then the number far away is high.
Mastercard is innovative on its design cards?
So far, no. Because it’s not the first time a financial institution uses a notch to identify a card. But, so far, it’s the first time a global card issuer such as Mastercard, delivers a new card design standard with a series of notches on the side of the card, to help a very specific niche without impacting the other users.
Why does Mastercard do this?
Numbers are the key. With more than 43 million people around the world and most of them facing issues during the choosing card in the payment process. This new design proposal comes out to help all visually impaired people distinguish between credit, debit, or prepaid cards. And, believe it or not, this is a pain point for most of them.
Who was in charge of the design?
The new feature is the result of several studies developed by well know organizations by the industry, The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in the U.K. and VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired in the U.S. The card was co-designed by IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, providing trusted solutions in the physical as well as digital space.
At the same time, on the other side of the fence. Some people don’t agree with the Mastercard notch. Just because they thought, could be more helpful for the user, if the card type label is embossed in Braille codes at the top right corner of the card.
But what most of them are missing is Braile codes are well known for people who learned the codes previously, but this is not the case for new impaired people. I mean, people who recently lost their sight.
In the same way, other designers are commenting on the position of the notch, considering if the user uses a portrait wallet this design could be not useful for them. So, the recommendation is to put the notch in the top right corner of the card.
And I’m sure out there you will find tons of fresh ideas about the one thousand uses of the notch. But with this new feature in the card, what Mastercard proved is how a small change in the design of a card could help millions of people around the world, solving a current pain point they’re facing and avoiding a real struggle identifying their payment card.
Mastercard press release statement.
The company extends its commitment to inclusivity by introducing a new access card standard for blind and partially sighted people, called the Touch Card. There are few effective ways for the visually impaired to quickly determine whether they’re holding credit, debit, or prepaid cards.
